COLD STABILIZATION

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Cold Stabilization

The purpose behind cold stabilization is to remove all tartrate crystals from a​wine during its fermentation stage.

How is cold stabilization achieved?

Commercial wineries cold stabilize their wines to avoid tartrate dropouts. Cold stabilizing is the process of dropping the temperature of the wine, after fermentation, to close to freezing for 1-2 weeks. This will cause the crystals to separate from the wine and stick to the sides of the holding vessel. When the wine is drained from the vessels, the tartrates are left behind.​In general, it is more common for white wines than red wines to be cold stabilized​ because consumers commonly store white wines at colder temperatures, which increases the risk for bottle precipitation. Crystals are typically more noticeable in white wines than in red wines.

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Why?

Winemakers often cold stabilize wines to obtain a flawless, clear visual final product. If a wine is untreated and chilled to a low temperature in the consumer’s refrigerator, the crystals may precipitate out of the wine and settle at the bottom of the bottle or glass. Consumers often confuse these harmless crystals with glass fragments. The crystals may also appear smaller and darker in color, which can also concern consumers who are unaware they are harmless.​Though the crystals pose no health risk, concerns from consumers required winemakers to find a method for cold stabilizing their product. ​